Roll supports for towel cabinets



Oct. 23, 1962 B. A. DAHLlN 3,059,982

ROLL SUPPORTS FOR TOWEL CABINETS Filed April 18, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A? roRA/n Lst 1952 A. DAHLIN 3,059,982?

ROLL SUPPORTS FOR TOWEL CABINETS Filed April 18, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. awm/aaaz 19 7 TOR/V5915 3,059,982 ROLL SUPPORTS FOR TDWEL CABINETS Bernard A. Dahlin, Green Bay, Wis, assignor to Fort Howard Paper Company, Green Bay, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 22,763 Claims. (Cl. 31239) This invention relates to improvements in roll supports for towel cabinets.

Heretofore it has been common in roll towel dispensing cabinets to employ trunnion fittings in the ends of the core of the supply roll and to have these fittings coact with suitable hearings in the cabinet. in this type of arrangement rolls of varying length cannot customarily be used, and in prior cabinets the roll diameter is restricted. In addition, the insertion of a new roll is troublesome and may not always be done correctly.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved roll towel dispensing cabinet which is so constructed as to accommodate rolls of various length and diameter.

A further object of the invention is to provide supply roll supporting means for roll towel cabinets which simplifies the procedure of inserting a new roll.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide supply roll supporting means for dispensing cabinets which incorporates a novel roll supporting cradle structure in which the roll of paper is placed, there being no end bearings for the roll and no need for trunnion fittings in the roll core.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device as above described wherein the cradle includes spaced metal straps which are readily adjustable toward and away from each other to vary the effective length of the cradle, there being an end wall associated with each strap to limit axial movement of the roll.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a device of the class described which is simple and inexpensive to construct, foolproof in operation, and well adapted for the purpose described.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved supply roll support for towel cabinets, and all of its parts and combinations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred formof the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a towel cabinet embodying the improved supply roll support, the cover of the cabinet being raised to expose the interior, and the supply roll and withdrawn towelling being indicated by dot and dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the cabinet includes a main body portion 1 having a back wall 2, a bottom wall 3 and side walls 4. There is also a front cover 5 which is hinged to the upper edge of the main body as at 6. Within the cabinet is a dispensing unit, designated generally by the numeral 7, which unit includes end plates 8. The end plates are connected at the upper front by a front cradle supporting strip 9 which has a lower edge flange 10 and an upper edge roll or bead 11, the latter forming a guide over which the paper may be drawn from the supply roll 20, as is indicated by the dot and dash lines in FIG. 3. The strip 9 is provided with sets of apertures .12 and 13 which are best illustrated 3,059,982 Patented Oct. 23, 1962 in FIG. 2, each set including a series of longitudinally spaced apertures.

At the upper rear the end plates 8 are connected by a rear cradle supporting strip 14 (see FIG. 3) having its lower edge flanged inwardly as at 15. The upper edge of the strip 14 has two sets of notches 16 and 17, the upper ends of which are open at the upper edge of the strip. Each one of the notches 16 is in transverse alinement with one of the front openings 12, and each one of the notches 17 is in transverse alinement with one of the front openings 13.

The cradle structure proper comprises strap members 18 and 19 which are of generally concave form to cradle a supply roll 24} therein as shown in FIG. 3. Preferably each strap has straight portions 21 near its bottom forming a relatively fiat V which terminates in an apex 21. At the rear end of the strap 18 are projecting fingers 22 of a size to fit in two of the notches 16, and at the front end are fingers 23 of a size to fit into two of the holes 12. At the rear end of the strap 19 are fingers 24, like the fingers 22, for coaction with two of the notches 17 in the strip 14. At the front end of the strap 19 are fingers 25, like the fingers 23 of the other strap, and of a size to be insertable in two of the holes 13. The strap 19 has an end stop rail 26 on its outer side, as shown in FIG. 3. The ends of the stop rail 26 are bent over and suitably secured to upper portions of the strap 19 as at 27. A similar end stop rail 28 is secured in a similar manner on the outer side of the strap 18.

Supported in the unit 7 is suitable roll towel dispensing mechanism of the type described in application of Bernard A. Dahlin, et 211., Serial No. 848,396. This mechanism includes a dispensing roll 29 and a pressure roller 30 between which toweling from the supply roll 20 is adapted .to pass to emerge through a bottom dispensing opening 31, the dispensing operation being preferably under the control of a manual crank 32 and trigger 33 as described in the prior application.

Operation In filling the improved dispensing cabinet, the cover 5 is first raised to the position of FIG. 1. Next, the core of the used-up supply roll is removed from the cradle, and if the replacement roll is the same length, the roll is merely laid on the two cradle straps 18 and 19, as shown in FIG. 3, with the paper coming off the bottom of the roll toward the front. This paper is then pulled over the bead 11, and is then fed downwardly between the pressure roll 30 and the dispensing roll 29 so that the paper toweling will be dispensed through the bottom opening 31, as shown in FIG. 3.

If the supply roll is of somewhat greater or somewhat less length than the roll which was previously in the machine, the straps 18 and 19 may be adjusted to suit the new roll. This is accomplished by lifting up on the rear ends of the straps 18 and 19 to remove the fingers 22 and 24 from the notches 16 and 17. This then permits pulling the front fingers 23 and 25 out of the holes 12 and 13. The straps may then be replaced in a selected set of new openings to fit the new roll. It is to be noted that endwise movement of the roll relative to the cradle is limited by the end stop rails 26 and 28.

During dispensing from the cabinet, if the straps 18 and 19 were substantially the same arcuate contour as the periphery of the supply roll, then the roll might rotate too freely in the straps to cause an over-running and a release of too much paper. With the present invention, this is elfectively prevented by having the lower portions of the straps V-shaped, with relatively straight sides 21 meeting at an apex 21'. The weight of the supply roll causes it to wedge very lightly in the shallow Vs so that there is extra friction exerted at the points J 40 where the roll wedgingly engages the cradle as shown in FIG. 3. This extra friction is just enough to prevent over-running of the roll and acts as a light brake.

It is apparent that with the above construction it is unnecessary to have any trunnion-carrying inserts for the ends of the core of the supply roll. It is also apparent that an inexperienced person can easily load the machine properly. In addition, changes in adjustment of the cradle length can be quickly performed by anyone. Thus, it is possible to refill the cabinet regardless of the length of the supply roll which is on hand providing it is within a reasonable range of sizes. As a practical matter the cabinets are being made to take any roll up to ten inches in length and eight inches in diameter.

The dispensing mechanism illustrated is merely shown as one exemplification, it being obvious that the supply roll feature can be used in cabinets having various other types of dispensing mechanisms. It is also obvious that the features of the invention are applicable for use in connection with cabinets for rolls of cloth toweling.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the exact details of construction or to the adaptation shown and described, for obvious modifications and other adaptations will occur to persons skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a towel dispenser having an outer cabinet having front and rear walls and provided with a dispensing unit equipped with towel delivery mechanism, the improvement of a front cradle-supporting strip supported on said dispensing unit within said cabinet spaced inwardly of the front wall thereof and above the delivery mechanism and having a guiding edge over which towel- :ing is adapted to be guided to said delivery mechanism, a rear cradle supporting strip supported on said dispensing unit within said cabinet and spaced inwardly of the rear wall of the cabinet above said delivery mechanism, a pair of supply roll supporting cradle straps, and means on said front and rear strips cooperable with the ends of said cradle straps for supporting said straps, said means providing for adjustable movement of at least one of said cradle straps toward and away from the other to suit the length of a supply roll.

2. In a towel dispenser having a cabinet provided with a dispensing unit equipped with towel delivery mechanism, the improvement of a front cradle supporting strip supported in said cabinet having a guiding edge over which toweling is adapted to be guided to said delivery mechanism, a rear cradle supporting strip supported in said cabinet, spaced, independent supply roll supporting cradle straps, and cooperable means on said front and rear strips and on the ends of said straps for adjustably supporting said cradle straps a selected distance apart to suit the length of the supply roll.

3. In a towel dispenser having a cabinet provided with a dispensing unit equipped with towel delivery mechanism, the improvement of a front cradle supporting strip supported in said cabinet having a guiding edge over which toweling is adapted to be guided to said delivery mechanism, a rear cradle supporting strip supported in said cabinet, spaced, independent supply roll supporting cradle straps, and cooperable means on said front and rear strips and on the ends of said straps for adjustably supporting said cradle straps a selected distance apart to suit the length of the supply roll, each cradle strap having a transversely extending stop rail movable therewith for limiting axial movement of the supply roll in the cradle.

4. In a roll towel dispenser having a cabinet provided with a dispensing unit and towel delivery mechanism, a front cradle supporting strip supported in said cabinet and having an upper edge over which towelling is adapted to be guided and having longitudinally spaced openings, a rear cradle-supporting strip supported in said cabinet and having longitudinally spaced openings, and a pair of supply roll supporting cradle-straps having end fingers of a size and so positioned as to cooperate with selected openings in the front and rear strips to adjustably support the cradle straps a selected distance apart.

5. In a roll towel dispenser having a cabinet provided with a dispensing unit and towel delivery mechanism, a front cradle supporting strip on said dispensing unit above the delivery mechanism and having an upper edge over which towelling is adapted to be guided and having longitudinally spaced openings, a rear cradle supporting strip on said dispensing unit above said delivery mechanism having longitudinally spaced openings, and a pair of supply roll supporting cradle straps having end fingers of a size and so positioned as to cooperate with selected openings in the front and rear strips to adjustably support the cradle straps a selected distance apart, the longitudinally spaced openings in one of said supporting strips being open-topped to facilitate adjustable movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 719,234 LafOn Jan. 27, 1903 2,038,822 Bins Apr. 28, 1936 2,550,209 Tuttle Apr. 24, 1951 2,722,387 Tuttle Nov. 1, 1955 2,930,663 Weiss Mar. 29, 1960 

